final ling thesis.doc 1 - swarthmore college · these moments of increased language contact and...

Linguistic Tug-of-War French and German in Alsace, 1945

Terry Kegel

Linguistics Thesis

December 2002

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1.0 Introduction

This thesis investigates the linguistic effects of language contact between French and

German in Alsace due to the German annexation of this region during World War II.1

Along linguistic borders throughout the world, languages are colliding and influencing

each other. The story of language contact is nothing new. However, the story of this

particular linguistic border is unique because of the region’s complicated history of

cultural conflict, military occupation and political domination. Over the past sixteen

centuries, Alsace has experienced a back-and-forth pull from the two superpowers to the

west and east, France and Germany (see maps, Appendix A). The turbulent, tug-of-war

history of Alsace has constantly challenged the Alsatian people to secure a stable cultural

and national identity. This study focuses on understanding the development of the

linguistic aspect of this Alsatian identity.

Five key turning points in the region’s history have determined the Alsatian

linguistic identity. These moments of increased language contact and abrupt change in

language policy reveal the true character of a linguistic community and how it reacts to a

given situation. The most recent turning point, on which this study focuses, was the

Liberation of Alsace at the end of World War II in 1945. At this time, Alsace basically

consisted of a German-literate community and a French-literate community. The primary

spoken language in Alsace was the Germanic Alsatian dialect, which I will refer to as,

simply, “the dialect”. However, for the purposes of this study, I am focusing on the two

written languages in Alsace: French and German.

1 Thanks to my advisor, Kari Swingle, my second reader, Eric Raimy, my student reader, Eileen Thorsos,and all the other patient folks who helped me along the way.

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During World War II, the Nazis imposed a harsh language policy on the

Alsatians, outlawing French and enforcing German. This German imposition could have

had three possible effects on the outcome of the linguistic tug-of-war game between

French and German in Alsace. The three possible resulting situations for the Alsatian

speakers were an increased German influence, mutually equal French and German

influences, or a greater French influence. First, German influence might have increased.

French-speaking Alsatians may continue to borrow from German as if they had ingrained

and accepted the wartime imposition. German-speaking Alsatians may continue to avoid

the use of French in their speech despite the retraction of the Nazi law banning French.

The popularity of German borrowings among French speakers in the region would be

greater than the popularity of French borrowings among German speakers. Second, the

war could have changed nothing. In this case, German influence would be no greater or

lesser than French influence. That is, German borrowings in French and French

borrowings in German would be comparable. Third, the harshness of the language policy

during the war could have invoked amongst the Alsatians an anti-German sentiment, thus

decreasing German influence. There would be fewer German borrowings in French and

more French borrowings in German.

Considering Alsatian history and attitudes towards language, the third possibility

of linguistic effect as a result of contact seems most likely to have occurred. My

hypothesis is that there was a greater French influence on Alsatian speech after World

War II due to the anti-German sentiment provoked by the harsh Nazi policies during the

war. To test this hypothesis, this study analyzes and compares the type and regularity of

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lexical borrowings from French into German and from German into French in Alsatian

newspapers in 1945.

This thesis is organized as follows: in section 2, I will provide a background of

the history and linguistic situation of Alsace leading up to World War II. I have divided

this history into four important phases, each discussed in its own sub-section. In section

3, I will present a brief overview of the Alsatian experience during World War II. I will

explain the Germans’ political, military, cultural, and linguistic takeover of Alsace during

the war and the Alsatian response after the Liberation. In section 4, I will expand upon

the goals and process of my experiment and I will explain the terms I will be using to

classify my data. In section 5, I will present my data and results. I will use examples to

explain various classifications. Also in this section, I have compiled my findings into a

table, comparing French and German influence. In section 6, I will provide a summary of

my findings and my general argument. I will attempt to answer the central question of

this study: What was the linguistic effect of language contact between French and

German in Alsace as a result of World War II and what implications do these linguistic

effects have for Alsatian identity?

2.0 History and Language in Alsace prior to World War II

This section outlines the important events in Alsatian history from the 5th century leading

up to World War II. In providing this background, I focus primarily on those events that

affect language in Alsace.

2.1 Origins

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In the 5th century, two Germanic tribes, each with its own dialect, Francique and

Alemannic, invaded Gaul in an area that would later become known as Alsace, where

Gallo-Roman, a popular form of Latin, was spoken. These tribes established themselves

in Alsace and, by the end of that century, their German dialects2 had replaced Gallo-

Roman as the common language in the region (Philipps 1986). A physical barrier to the

west, the Vosges mountain range, helped secure Alsace’s position on the German side of

the Germanic-Romance language border. Over the next millenium, interaction with the

French language in Alsace was minimal and, for the vast majority of Alsatians, the

dialect was their sole form of communication.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, two important events led to the standardization of

German, at least in written form. With Gutenberg’s invention of the printer in 1440,

printing companies could produce thousands of copies of a book and distribute them

throughout Europe. Therefore, it was in the companies’ best interests to choose a form of

German most widely understood. As a result, other Germanic dialects became more rare

in written form. Then, in 1522 Martin Luther translated the Bible into a more

“prestigious” form of German (Philipps 1986: 26), which became the “standard” German.

This standardization led to an increasing alienation of other dialects and a greater

distinction between written and spoken language in Alsace. Alsatians adopted the

“standard” German written form, but continued to speak in the dialect. 3

2 To simplify this discussion, henceforth, I will refer to all Germanic dialects spoken in Alsace as “thedialect”. This arguably does not do justice to the diversity of dialects in the region, for the purpose of thisstudy, we need only know that Alsatians were exposed to some Germanic dialect, the dialect, whichcompeted with French and German in the region.3 Until I discuss the introduction of a new standard of German in 1870, “German” will refer to “standard”German as it was accepted in the 16th century.

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To complicate matters even further, French began to enjoy more of a presence in

Alsace at this time, as French Calvinists sought refuge, particularly in Strasbourg, from

religious persecution in France. On the eve of the first of five major turning points in the

history of Alsace, the linguistic situation was thus: while Alsatians began to be exposed

to French and written German, the vast majority of them continued to use the dialect as

their primary form of oral communication.

2.2 1648-1870

After the Thirty Years War, which was particularly devastating for the region, Alsatians

welcomed peace, even though it meant domination by a different empire, France. In

1648 the Treaty of Westphalia transferred most of north Alsace and several parts of south

Alsace to the control of the French king, though Strasbourg remained a free city. French

was soon after introduced as the official language of Alsace. While French did make

some progress amongst the bourgeoisie and intellectuals, the common people had no use

for it and continued to use the dialect and German for their oral and written

communication. The king allowed this linguistic freedom in Alsace. School classes

continued to be taught in German. For the most part, French was ignored.

However, the French Revolution, beginning in 1789, was an important event in

pulling Alsace towards France and away from Germanic culture. After experiencing with

the rest of France such a momentous period, Alsatians felt more a part of the national

cause and were thus more open to learning its language and culture (Philipps 1986). Not

only were Alsatians becoming more willing to accept French, but also France was

becoming more aggressive in pressuring them to learn it. Under such slogans as “une

langue, une nation” (“one language, one nation”), there was a greater effort to Frenchify

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Alsace.4 The authorities created more French schools and even tried, unsuccessfully, to

convince the clergy to use more French in their sermons and religious instruction. Yet,

this pressure was minimal compared to language policies during later time periods.5

Indeed, the popular masses continued to use the dialect and ignore French, though some

began to recognize the utility of having a good French education for finding better jobs.

While this increased exposure to French did not affect the popularity of the dialect, which

remained the primary spoken language, the Alsatian people’s knowledge of German did

begin to suffer (Philipps 1986), an example of Alsace drifting away from Germanic

culture.

2.3 1870-1918

Just when France appeared to be luring Alsace in for good, German troops invaded

eastern France in 1870 and, after the treaty of Francfort-sur-le-Main, reclaimed Alsace.

“High German” became the official language of the region. While it vaguely resembled

the spoken dialect, this official German was still very different from the mother tongue.

In addition, though Alsatians had been using “standard” written German, their “standard”

was now obsolete, since they had been separated from the Germanic world for over two

centuries. With difficulty, Alsatians adjusted to the oral and written form of the new

standard, High German.6

Throughout this time period, German gained ground back from French in this

linguistic tug-of-war. German was the language of instruction in schools, which resulted

4 Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own.

5 Even Napoleon respected the Alsatians’ linguistic freedom and is often quoted as saying: “Laissez-lesparler leur jargon, pourvu qu’ils sabrent à la française” (Philipps 1986: 83) (“Let them speak their jargon,as long as they fight for the French”).6 Other than to emphasize a point, henceforth, I will only use “German” to refer to “High German”.

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in the younger generation, by 1918, not knowing French (Philipps 1986: 164). However,

German certainly did not take over as the primary Alsatian language. In fact, towards the

end of the 19th century, many Alsatians purposely did not use German, as a way of

claiming their own Alsatian identity. The dialect became a symbol for this independent

Alsatian identity that they were ready to defend from political or linguistic domination

(Philipps 1986).

During World War I, for security reasons, the German authorities in Alsace

assumed a more oppressive language policy. All signs and place names were

Germanized; even people’s names were changed, a tactic that would also be used in

World War II. While their linguistic measures were relatively liberal throughout much of

this time period, the memory of linguistic oppression by the German authorities during

the war would leave its ugly mark on Alsatian memory. From 1870 to 1918, German

succeeded in reestablishing itself in Alsace, but as the war came to an end, Alsatian

attitudes towards German became less favorable.

2.4 1918-1940

After World War I Alsace was transferred back to France and French became the official

language again in the administration and in schools. German was taught in schools as a

foreign language. The French authorities’ language policy towards German became

stricter. In one city, they even went so far as to ban German. French replaced German in

place names. Leading up to World War II, French had once again made progress in

Alsace at the expense of German. French had become the dominant written language. In

spoken communication, the majority of Alsatians continued to use primarily the dialect,

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though many, especially among the younger generation, were competent in French as

well.

On the eve of World War II, Alsace, for the most part, consisted of French-literate

or German-literate (or illiterate) dialect speakers. After 15 centuries of linguistic

inconsistency, while the dialect remained the most popular spoken language, it was still

unclear which written form of communication Alsatians preferred. Though French had

become popular during France’s recent domination of the region since World War I, there

still existed a large German-reading community, which had little interest in a French

takeover. Later, we will see how the German readers’ attitude towards French would

change due to the events of the war.

3.0 World War II

The dark period of World War II, summarized in this section, was extremely important in

shaping Alsatian identity, including linguistic identity. The war years had a significant

effect on Alsatians’ linguistic decisions after the war and continue to affect the

development of language in Alsace today.

3.1 Political and Military Takeover

In September 1939, with Germany’s invasion of Poland, World War II began. Despite

the existence of the infamous Maginot line, a massive wall of defense constructed

between the wars on the border in northeastern France, many Alsatians felt that the threat

of another German takeover was too close for comfort. By June 1940, 40% of Alsatians

had evacuated the region, leaving most of their belongings behind (Rigoulot 1997: 11).

The majority of them moved southwest and settled in cities such as Clermont-Ferrand.

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This relatively uneventful period from September 1939 to June 1940 is often

labeled the “drôle de guerre” or the phony war: nothing much happened. However, the

war became real very quickly for the Alsatians when, in May and June 1940, the German

troops stormed through Belgium and invaded northeastern France, easily by-passing the

Maginot line. The French army was stunned and could only retreat towards the South.

President Maréchal Pétain called for an armistice on June 17, 1940 and Germany

assumed control of a large part of northern France. In addition to occupying much of the

North, the Germans annexed the regions of Alsace and Lorraine. Hitler justified this

annexation as he had other similar takeovers elsewhere in Europe: he was merely

reuniting these Germanic speakers (remember, the dialect is Germanic) with their fellow

ethnic Germans: Volksdeutsche. The German government incorporated these new

acquisitions into their political organization, redividing the province into districts and

naming a Nazi leader.

After the military situation was brought under control in France, most Alsatians

returned home in the summer and fall of 1940. Upon their return, Alsatians began to

adjust, for the fourth time in their history, to a new culture and political system.

However, German authorities did not allow for adjusting time; theirs was the strictest rule

Alsace had ever experienced. First of all, those deemed unfit for or unworthy of

Germanization, such as Jews, Gypsies, and immigrants, were expelled from the region.

In all, 45,000 people were expelled from Alsace.

Second, like all German citizens, Alsatians between the ages of 17 and 25 were

forced to serve one year in the Reichsarbeitsdienst, which included a variety of activities,

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from military education to farm labor. German authorities saw this as “un moyen de

brasser les jeunes [Alsaciens] avec le reste de la jeunesse allemande” (Rigoulot 1997: 54)

(“a way of mixing young Alsatians with the rest of the German youth”).

Third, starting in 1943, young Alsatians were ordered to serve in the German

armed forces. The introduction of this order was met with much resentment and

resistance. Many hid or fled, or invented an excuse to avoid the obligatory military

service; this resistance marked the “rupture définitive avec le pouvoir nazi” (Rigoulot

1997: 59) (“definitive break from the Nazi power.”)

This strict rule provoked an intense hatred of the Germans, which, as we will see,

never really disappeared. In addition to the harshness of the German rule, the brutality of

the war also encouraged a growing resentment towards the Germans. The war was

especially hard on the Alsatians, as they suffered many losses: 30,000 died, 10,000

disappeared, and 32,000 were wounded. Overall, the population of Alsace dropped by

6% between 1936 and 1946 (Rigoulot 1997: 117).

By the end of 1942, after key victories in the East and in Africa, the Allies were

beginning to push the Germans back towards their original borders. Over the next two

years the Germans retreated from all fronts, though they never stopped fighting until the

very end, leaving behind trails of bloody battles. On March 21, 1945 Alsace was finally

rid of the Germans and, in an immediate sense, the war period was over. For the third

time in its history, Alsace became a French region, which it remains today. The Germans

surrendered several weeks later, on May 8, which became known as V.E. day, marking

the end of World War II in Europe.

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3.2 Cultural and Linguistic Takeover

After gaining control of Alsace, the Nazis immediately incorporated the region into

Germany’s political organization and immersed it in German culture and language. The

Nazi effort to take over Alsace culturally and linguistically consisted not only of this

intense Germanization, but also of a strict policy of de-Frenchification and de-

Alsatianization.

3.2.1 De-Frenchification

The Nazis’ main focus was to de-Frenchify Alsace by severing all ties to France. This

was a total makeover: “un ratissage systématique et immédiat de tout ce qui était ou

paraissait français” (Philipps 1986: 225) (“a systematic and immediate liquidation of

everything that was or appeared French”). Nazi Gaulieter Josef Burckel, the regional

Nazi party authority, described it as a need to scrub out the stain left from years of French

domination: “90 ans (sic) de domination française ont laissé un vernis français qui

disparaîtra complètement au cours du nettoyage auquel nous procéderons” (Rigoulot

1997: 32) (“90 years of French domination has left a French varnish that will disappear

completely in the course of the clean-up that we will carry out”).

Recognizing the power of language in cultural control, the German authorities

started their campaign of wiping Alsace clean of the French stain by passing acts

throughout the rest of 1940 and early 1941 outlawing the use of French. They prohibited

French in the administrative sector starting August 16, 1940 and in the judicial sector

September 10, 1940. Also in September they forbid Alsatians to pray in French. They

outlawed the use of French in schools starting February 14, 1941. They pressured adults,

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too, to learn German, offering free language courses. By April 1941, French was

outlawed in all spheres, even in the streets. Alsatians caught speaking French were fined

or worse. Four high school students in Strasbourg spent 2 weeks in prison for speaking

French in the street (Philipps 1986: 230). Some violators were even sent, along with

others deemed unfit for society, to the “camp de rééducation de Schirmeck” (“re-

education camp in Schirmeck [near Strasbourg]”).

Along with outlawing the oral use of French in Alsace, German authorities

banned all written French. Starting October 1, 1940, all signs had to be changed to

German. Storefront signs were painted over and translated into German; road signs were

replaced with German names. French newspapers were Germanized, in effect, becoming

tools of Nazi propaganda, such as the Strassburger Neueste Nachrichten.7 The Nazis

would dictate every night what was to be printed (Wirtz-Habermeyer 1987: 185). The

authorities removed French books from libraries and some towns held book-burnings

(Schmitt 1977: 40).

The Germans even went so far as to attack the most personal expression of one’s

language: names. In November 1940 they ordered Alsatians to change their French-

sounding first and last names to German names. Thus, Pierre became Peter, Jacques

became Jakob, Grosjean became Grosshans. A failure to change one’s name was

punishable by arrest and even transfer to central Germany (Schmitt 1977: 35). Names of

towns and landmarks were also changed, usually to their German name from before

1918: Châtenois became Kestenholz, Mulhouse became Mülhausen.

Linguistic measures were just part of the general policy of cultural makeover

enacted in Alsace by the German authorities. As soon as they had seized control of the

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region, the Germans eliminated any possible reference in Alsace to French culture. They

even forbid the use of blue, white, or red, the French national colors, on store signs,

preferring instead their yellow and black. They destroyed monuments and statues that

made reference to France’s glorious history or replaced them with German equivalents.

In fact, the German government created an ‘office pour l’épuration des monuments

commémoratifs’ (“agency for the purging of commemorative monuments”), whose sole

purpose was to Germanize Alsatian monuments. 600 monuments and 300 plaques in

Alsace were destroyed or replaced (Rigoulot 1997: 35). Roads and town squares were

named after German heroes and leaders: Avenue Serpenoise became Adolf-Hitler-

Strasse, Place Kleber became Karl-Roos-Platz. Schools became centers of Nazi

propaganda. Theaters put on famous German plays. German national holidays were

celebrated, such as one commemorating victorious battles in 1870.

3.2.2 De-Alsatianization

The German cultural and linguistic takeover was an attack not only on French, but

also on the dialect. Unlike the earlier German occupation, 1870-1918, when the Germans

encouraged use of the dialect (Gardner-Chloros 1991: 9), during WWII, the Nazis

imposed one uniform language, High German, and sought to eliminate all other

languages. Their motivations were clear: “[Les Nazis] cherchait non seulement à

regrouper tous les hommes de langue allemande dans une même nation, mais aussi à

sceller la cohésion de cette nation par l’unité linguistique. Pour atteindre ce but, les

dialectes devaient disparaître au bénéfice du haut-allemand” (Philipps 1986: 233) (“The

Nazis attempted not only to group all Germanic speakers together in one nation, but also

to reinforce the cohesion of this nation through linguistic unity. In order to achieve this

7 There were, however, a couple underground French newspapers during the war.

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goal, the dialects had to disappear in favor of High German”). In such a totalitarian

regime as was the Nazi government during the war, cultural and linguistic uniformity was

crucial, especially in the annexed territories where the potential for resistance was

greatest.

The Nazis’ takeover of Alsace, consisting of de-Frenchification, de-

Alsatianization, and Germanization, was immediately effective in creating a uniform,

controlled environment, conducive to Nazi domination. Linguistically, they had purified

German of any possible French influence. However, as we will see, in the long run, this

was counter-productive to German interests in Alsace: it merely encouraged Alsatians to

welcome French influence once the German domination had been removed.

3.3 Alsatian Attitudes after Liberation

After the Liberation of Alsace by the Allies in the spring of 1945, Alsatians found

themselves at yet another crossroads in the development of their personality as a region.

After nearly five years of German control, Alsatians had the opportunity to evaluate and

redefine themselves and their history. Their mood after the Liberation was largely

influenced by the events of the war and their treatment by the German authorities. Five

years of brutal domination on the part of the Nazis motivated the denial of 10 centuries of

direct Germanic cultural influence in Alsatian memory. If they weren’t already leaning

that way, World War II pushed many Alsatians to make a clean break from the Germanic

world and jump on the French bandwagon. Generally speaking, in 1945 Alsatians

wanted nothing to do with Germany. Never in their history did they associate themselves

more with France (Hoffet 1951: 16). The German takeover had backfired: “Hitler a sans

doute fait plus pour la cause française en Alsace que tous les patriotes réunis” (Hoffet

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1951: 45) (“Without a doubt, Hitler did more for the French cause in Alsace than all the

patriots combined”). The expulsions, the arrests, the strict laws led Alsatians to perceive

all German influence as brutally imposed and unwanted. Their memory was full of too

many awful associations with Germany, which made it difficult to remember the positive

aspects of the Germanic cultural influence on the region. Instead, Alsace chose to forget

German influence altogether.

This desire to dissociate themselves from Germany was consistent amongst all

French people. France ignored its collaborative role and celebrated its heroes of the

Resistance, making scapegoats of the Germans for the darkest five years in their nation’s

history (Jackson 2001). Any German influence was seen as a contaminant, a threat to be

eliminated or a fault to mock (Burrin 1996). Amidst this pressure from their fellow

countrymen to the West, Alsatians exaggerated their already pro-French sentiment.

They, especially, were embarrassed to be associated with Germany (Gardner-Chloros

1991). They wanted to prove to the rest of France, which was already skeptical of their

patriotism, that they were just as anti-German (Wardhaugh 1987: 112).

Not only did they not want to be German, but Alsatians wanted to be French. As

a result, they arguably compromised their own unique, Alsatian character. Alsatian

autonomists, who “flourished” (Gardner Chloros 1991: 17) before the war, kept a very

low profile immediately after the war for fear of being labeled German. This denial of

Alsatian culture is evident in the rapid decline after the war in the use of the Germanic,

Alsatian dialect. Though most parents were more comfortable in the dialect, they felt this

anti-Germanic pressure, and therefore spoke French to their children: “ ‘C’était un parti

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pris après la Libération de parler français aux enfants’” (Gardner-Chloros, 1991: 31) (“

‘It was a decision of principle after the Liberation to speak French to the children’”).

As a result, the dialect has been gradually fading out of use for over half a

century. “Alsace [went] from being a predominantly dialect-speaking area in which

French was used in certain clear-cut domains (administration, school-teaching) to being

now a French-speaking area in which some sections of the population use the dialect in

some areas of their life” (Gardner-Chloros 1991: 26). Today, in the 21st century, for

many children, the dialect is as linguistically foreign as Spanish. These children can no

longer be called bilingual. They are French speakers.

Along with the decline of German and the dialect, the war helped the popularity

of the French language soar. “The dictatorial imposition of German [during the

war]...made French into a symbol of defiance amongst the generally rebellious

population” (Gardner-Chloros 1991: 9-11). Thus, after the Liberation, the French people

associated French with freedom and the victorious Resistance and took great pride in

their language. Posters in schools, offices, buses, and cafés advertised the famous slogan:

“ ‘C’est chic de parler français!’” (Salmon 1985: 63) (“It is stylish to speak French”).

In addition to these patriotic motivations, there were also practical reasons for the

increased emphasis on learning French in Alsace. There had been no French education in

five years, which put young Alsatian children at a disadvantage in a country where the

national language was French and Germanic languages were not socially accepted. For

the generation who were just starting school at the beginning of the war, there was a lot

of lost ground to make up. Therefore, French was a high priority in education, much

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more important than learning the “language of the enemy”(Schaeffer: 1976: 154). In

fact, German was completely banned in schools until 1952.

There was also pressure on the adults to learn and use French. The French

authorities passed laws restricting German and promoting French in movies, radio,

literature, and especially newspapers in Alsace. A law was passed on September 1, 1945

forbidding all-German newspapers. Only all-French and bilingual newspapers were

allowed. On September 13, another law was passed, outlining specific restrictions for the

bilingual papers. The maximum amount of German that could appear in a bilingual paper

was 75%. The title of the paper had to be French, as did advertisements, sports columns

and articles targeted at children. Failure to comply with these restrictions was punishable

by up to two years in prison and a 10,000 franc fine (Schaeffer 1976: 165).

As anti-French as the German authorities were during the war, the French

authorities were arguably just as anti-German after the Liberation. The difference to note

is how the Alsatian people reacted to these two intensely nationalist governments. After

the war the Alsatians had a grudge towards their recent oppressors, and therefore

accepted the anti-German language policy, believed in the necessity of such a policy, and

thus allowed their own speech to change. This pro-French attitude after the war allowed

the French government to pass laws that were just as nationalistic as the unpopular war-

time laws of the Nazis. “[These] equally authoritarian [measures were] psychologically

much more acceptable to the population because of their desire to be fully French once

again” (Gardner-Chloros 1991: 15). Five years of brutal German domination had dealt

the “coup fatal” (Salmon 1985: 63) (“final blow”) to Germanic influence and made

Frenchmen out of the Alsatians.

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By providing an historical background in the last two sections, I hope to clarify

the significant impact history has on linguistic development. With its especially

complicated history of influences, Alsace is a fascinating case study of language contact.

Understanding this historical background, we can hypothesize on specific linguistic

effects we expect to find. My study, which I present in the next section, analyzes the

linguistic effects on Alsatian speech due to World War II, specifically how the war tipped

the balance in the competition between French and German influence.

4.0 Set-up and Execution of Study

Alsace’s tumultuous history, especially its experience during World War II, has shaped

the region’s linguistic identity. By analyzing actual Alsatian speech, this study attempts

to identify the linguistic effects of this changing identity. How, exactly, are the

languages adapting? In what way is each specific adaptation a reflection of a changing

attitude towards foreign influence? How has history driven these changes? In this

section, I will restate my hypothesis and elaborate upon the goals of the study, discuss the

process, and present my system of data categorization.

4.1 Expectations and Goals

My hypothesis is that there is a greater French influence in Alsace after World War II due

to the anti-German sentiment provoked by the harsh Nazi policies during the war. To test

this, I am studying German and French speech in newspapers written by and for

Alsatians. I will compare the regularity and the types of borrowings in the two different

languages. I am expecting to find more French borrowings in German writing than

German borrowings in French writing. I am expecting this to show a greater hesitance to

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allow German borrowings, a greater effort to encourage the use of French, and an overall

preference for French influence amongst Alsatians in 1945. I collected data also for the

rate of English borrowing, which I will use as a control in comparing French and

German.

4.2 Documents

In searching for data samples for my study, I would have preferred to find a recording of

spoken language in Alsace, which would have been more indicative of natural Alsatian

speech. However, being half a century and thousands of miles removed from 1945

Alsace, this was not possible. Therefore, I studied written language in Alsace. In fact,

this made the study simpler; since the dialect is not used in a written form, I was only

comparing two languages, French and German and their influences on each other.

This study analyzes a sampling of French and bilingual versions of Les Dernières

Nouvelles d’Alsace (DNA) from 1945. DNA was the most popular newspaper in Alsace

at the time. It was printed daily in Strasbourg and distributed throughout Alsace.

Originally, when it first appeared in 1887, it was known as the Strassburger Neueste

Nachrichten. Starting December 21, 1944, it became known as Les Dernières Nouvelles

d’Alsace. Before World War II, both French and German versions were printed. During

the war, Nazis seized the printing facilities and used them to print a German newspaper

full of Nazi propaganda. Starting in early 1945, a French version and a bilingual (French

and German) version were printed. Combining these two versions, its circulation was

50,000 in May 1945, 100,000 in December 1945, and 150,000 by the end of 1948

(Schaeffer 1976: 169). In recent times, it has remained one of the most successful

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regional newspapers in France. According to statistics, in 1991 the paper was read by

70% of the Alsatian population over the age of 15 (Lorentz 1997: 383).

After the Liberation, DNA was an advocate for bilingualism (Schaeffer 1976:

166); the company started replacing its solely German editions with bilingual ones

several months before the law was passed in September 1945 ordering just that. DNA

could also be considered a popular paper in that it followed the general trends of the

majority of its readers. It subscribed to the theory of: “attirer et conserver les lecteurs en

informant beaucoup et en exprimant des opinions acceptables par le plus grand nombre”

(Schaeffer 1976: 170) (“attracting and keeping readers by being very informative and

expressing the most popular and accepted opinions.”). The popularity of this newspaper

was an important factor in choosing to use it as a document. The study attempts to

analyze Alsatian speech and what linguistic changes became acceptable for the Alsatian

people. Therefore, so as not to bias the data, I chose a document that most closely

resembled how Alsatians spoke or, at least, what they could understand.

The specific editions studied, chosen at random, were those printed on March 31,

May 9, May 27, July 13, and August 5, 1945. For each of these dates, I studied both the

French and the bilingual versions of the same paper. Most, but not all, of the stories

reported in one version, also appeared in the other. I collected data from just the first

page of the March 31 and July 13 papers and from the first and second pages of the

others. With the exception of the May 9 paper, I did not collect data from the

announcements and classifieds section on the second page.

4.3 Methodology

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In gathering my data, I scrutinized the documents, word-by-word, searching for German

influence in the French version and French influence in the German articles of the

bilingual version. Specifically, I was looking for lexical influence. I noted the German

words or phrases appearing in French sentences and the French words or phrases

appearing in German sentences. Once I had located an instance of borrowing, I translated

it and its immediate environment, interpreted the speaker’s intent in using it, and thus

classified it in one of the categories discussed below. In the end, I calculated the total

results, with a breakdown of each category.

4.4 Data Categorization

In deciding how to classify a particular borrowing, I tried to answer these questions: how

conscious was the writer or reader that this was a foreign phrase that could have been

translated into the native language? Did they consciously pass up the opportunity to

translate, and if so, what was their reasoning for this? Did the use of the original

language add any extra meaning to the specific content of the phrase, for example,

through tone or cultural reference? Did the borrowing show more of a linguistic or

cultural effect or both? Based on the answers to questions such as these, I classified the

data into four distinct categories of borrowings: untranslatables, loans, quotes, and

translatables.8

4.4.1 Untranslatables

Untranslatable borrowings are foreign phrases9 that are distinctly associated with their

original language.10 In other words, a French untranslatable is a phrase that is distinctly

8 With the exception of “loans”, I invented these terms.9 I am using the term “phrase” to include also single words.10 In this study, I ignore the ultimate untranslatable, proper names. I do not consider these to beborrowings.

23

French; the meaning of the phrase is wrapped up in the language used to convey the

meaning. Furthermore, the language of the phrase adds meaning. Because of the

importance of the original language in the informativeness of the phrase, the phrase

remains in the original language and is inserted, as is, into sentences in other languages.

One can judge the degree of distinctiveness, or untranslatability, of a phrase by observing

its tendency to remain untranslated while being borrowed into several different

languages. It is also important to note that within the category of untranslatables, there

are varying degrees of translatability: though their meaning is still compromised, some

phrases can be translated with greater ease than others.

An example of an untranslatable borrowing is the phrase Veni, Vidi, Vici: in its

original Latin, it is well recognized in most languages and therefore, rarely translated. By

remaining in its original language, the phrase better invokes the context in which the

phrase was first uttered and therefore becomes more meaningful. Another example is

Czar. This is a distinctively Russian phrase: the position of Czar is unique to Russia and

it invokes many references to Russian history.

Untranslatables show more of a cultural influence than a linguistic one. The

speakers are expanding their knowledge of foreign cultures, and, as a by-product of this,

they are expanding their foreign lexicon. However, unlike with translatables, they are not

showing any preference for the use of foreign words in place of their native equivalents

because there are no native equivalents of untranslatables. Therefore, the borrowing of

untranslatables does not prove any linguistic effect.

4.4.2 Loans

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Loans are similar to untranslatables in that they are borrowed because of their

distinctiveness, but they have been more assimilated into the adopting language:

sometimes the speakers are not even aware that certain loans have foreign origins. Also,

loans are often single words. They are first borrowed into a language because they

convey a particular sense or tone, otherwise unable to be communicated in the borrowing

language. In time, if the speakers continue to borrow a loan, it is assimilated into the

borrowing language and becomes part of the lexicon. Example of loans in English

include the French café and the Yiddish shmuck.

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact date of entry of a loan into the borrowers’

lexicon. It is also difficult to know whether speakers are consciously aware of the

“foreignness” of the loan as they are using them. If they are aware of this foreignness

and continue to use them, one can make conclusions about the speakers’ attitudes towards

foreign influence. In this case, loans have a significant linguistic effect since they are

consciously being added on to the native lexicon. However, if the speakers are not aware

of this foreignness, while the fact that the loans exist at all proves that there was a

linguistic effect from foreign influence at some point, one cannot argue that at the

moment in question, there is a linguistic effect. Therefore, as far as my study is

concerned, this category of borrowings is inconclusive of linguistic effect.

4.4.3 Quotes

Like untranslatables, quotes are distinctive of their original language; however, like

translatables, they are not oft-used well-recognized phrases. They are distinctive because

quotes, by definition, are exact and are attributable to a speaker. By translating a quote

25

into a foreign language, one loses this exactness and betrays the speaker’s ownership of

the phrase. As a result, some meaning is lost.

While both untranslatables and quotes are distinct to their original language, there

is an important difference in the ways in which this distinctiveness is achieved. With

untranslatables, the fame of the content of the phrase, which is then associated with its

language, makes the phrase distinct to that language. With quotes whose content is not

well-known, the importance of speaker attribution and language makes the phrase distinct

to that language. Because the distinctiveness of quotes is not due to any uniqueness of its

words, quotes are more translatable. The words within a quote are usually not

complicated to translate. The same phrase without quotation marks could be categorized

as a translatable borrowing. However, the quotation marks indicate the importance of

maintaining speaker loyalty.

So, quotes are both distinct to their original language and are translatable, two

contradictory characteristics. In mostly monolingual communities, translatability usually

wins. It is more important that the reader understand the content of the quote, so it is

translated. However, in communities that already are or are being encouraged to become

bilingual, quotes are not translated. As far as this study is concerned, that is the

important point: untranslated quotes assume, or at least encourage, bilingualism and

code-switching ability amongst the readers. Quotes do not have a linguistic effect; they

are not changing the lexicon by replacing native equivalents. But they are evidence of

bilingualism and a generally accepting attitude toward foreign influence. So, while

quotes are not the direct cause of any linguistic effect, they promote the possibility of

linguistic effect by encouraging foreign influence.

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4.4.4 Translatables

Translatable borrowings are phrases that are not well-known nor distinct to their original

language, yet remain untranslated. They do not imply any important cultural references.

They do not consist of words that do not have equivalents in the borrowing lexicon.

Their words do not convey any unique tone. They are not quotes. Untranslated quotes

are somewhat understandable because, by nature, quotes have more pressure to preserve

the originality of their speaker; however untranslated translatables are much more

surprising. They are simply missed opportunities to translate. Translatable borrowings

show a linguistic effect: these foreign phrases are replacing already existent equivalents

in the lexicon of the borrowing language.

A community which borrows a significant number of translatables is accepting of

foreign linguistic influence. To relate this to my study, a bilingual community that

borrows more translatables from one language into the other and not the other way

around is more accepting of foreign linguistic influence in that direction.

In my study, I expect to find a greater number of borrowings from French into

German than from German into French. If this is the case, I will conclude that there is a

stronger French influence on Alsace after the war.

5.0 Data Analysis and Results

In this section I will provide a representative sampling from the data of examples of

borrowings in their specific contexts. 11 I will suggest possible motivations of the

borrowings, while classifying them into the categories described in the previous section.

11 See Appendix C for complete list of data and contexts. For some examples, I did not write down thecontext.

27

I will present my results and the statistical breakdown in a table that will enable us to

compare French and German influence.

5.1 German Borrowings in French Writing

Amongst the five editions of the French newspapers, I analyzed approximately 14,020

words. Of these, I found 11 German borrowings. I have divided them into three

categories: untranslatables, loans, and translatables


There are 8 total instances of German untranslatable borrowing, including famous

phrases, company names, and government and military titles. These phrases remain

untranslated because they are well-known, distinctly German phrases, and some of their

meaning would be lost in a French translation. Here are three examples:

(1) Sieg-Heil

“L’Allemagne est occupée dans sa totalité...on n’entend plus le chant de ‘Horst Wessel’,

et les ‘Sieg-Heil’...” (May 27, p. 1)

“Germany is occupied in its totality…we no longer hear the Horst Wessel song and the

Sieg-Heil’s…”

Literally meaning “Hail Victory”, this is a Nazi slogan and salute, similar to “Heil Hitler”

(Michael and Doerr 2002). The closest French equivalent might be “la victoire est à

nous” (“Victory is ours”). However, when translated, the phrase lacks the powerful

connotations of Nazi language.

(2) Führer

“…parler au Führer.” (March 31, p. 1)

“…to speak to the Führer.”

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Literally meaning “leader”, this became Hitler’s official title during the Nazi reign. As a

result of Hitler’s infamy, the word “führer” has never been able to rid itself of this

association with Hitler. This German word was accepted into several languages and was

often used interchangeably with the name, Hitler. The closest translation into French

might be “conducteur”, but “Conducteur Hitler” does not invoke nearly the same

emotion.

(3) Wehrmacht

“La Ruhr…a pratiquement cessé d’exister comme centre d’approvisionnement en

matériel de guerre de la Wehrmacht.” (March 31, p. 1)

“The Ruhr…practically ceased to exist as the supply center of war material for the

Wehrmacht.”

Literally meaning “defense power”, this refers to the Third Reich’s armed forces

(Michael and Doerr 2002). The closest possible equivalent in French is “armée Nazi”

(“Nazi army”). This German term was well known by the French and conveyed a special

sense of German-ness when untranslated.

5.1.2 Loans

There is only one instance of German loan borrowing, in which a German word has

already assimilated into the French lexicon:

(1) leitmotiv

“Ces phrases, avec la régularité et même l’obsession d’un leitmotiv...” (July 13, p. 1)

“These sentences, with the regularity and even the obsession of a leitmotiv…”

This loan, which might be translated into English as “theme” and into French as “fil

conducteur”, had already entered the French language half a century prior to World War

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II (Bloch and Wartburg 1960). It apparently filled some gap in the French lexicon or it

was used to convey a certain tone. It is unclear whether speakers in 1945 were conscious

of its German origin.

5.1.3 Translatables

There are two instances of German translatable borrowing. By replacing native

equivalents, these phrases, which are not well known as distinctly German and therefore

could have been translated, are changing the French lexicon.

(1) Strassenbahn

“Les ‘Strassenbahndiplomingenieure’ venus de Karlsruhe…” (March 31, p. 1)

“The ‘certified Tram engineers’ from Karlsruhe…”

“Strassenbahn” could have been translated into French as “tramway”, which,

coincidentally, is an American loan word, but has been assimilated into the French

lexicon. The fact that it was used in a compound word whose other half was French

shows a conscious effort to borrow instead of using a native equivalent. One can only

hypothesize about why this was borrowed untranslated. It could be that German is used

to invoke a sense of respect for these engineers who have been certified in Germany,

particulary in Karlsruhe, which is well known for its metal industry. Or, it could be that

German is used in an ironic or mocking manner. The writer could be poking fun at the

specificity of these Germans’ jobs. It is impossible to know what sense of the borrowing

the writer intended. Regardless, what is important is that the borrowing occurred and that

it is having a linguistic effect on French by expanding its lexicon.

(2) Wiese

“À son arrivée à la ‘Kinziger Wiese’ le général...” (August 5, p. 1)

30

“Upon his arrival at ‘Kinziger Meadow’ the general…”

“Wiese” could have been translated into the French “prairie”. The German word is

replacing the French equivalent in the lexicon. One could argue that “Wiese” was not

translated because it was part of the place name “Kinziger Wiese”. By this logic, for

example, when translating “Delaware Valley”, “valley” would remain in its original

English since it is part of a place name. I could interpret it either way, but in order to be

consistent throughout my analysis, I decided to consider descriptive words of an adjacent

proper name or place name as separate from the name and therefore translatable. So,

words like “Wiese” in “Kinziger Wiese”, “Valley” in “Delaware Valley”, and, as we will

see later, “Général” in “Général de Gaulle” are all translatable.

5.2 French Borrowings in German Writing

Amongst the German sections of the five bilingual papers, I analyzed approximately

11,820 words. Of these, I found 46 total French borrowings. I have divided them into

four categories: untranslatables, loans, quotes, and translatables.


There are 8 total instances of French untranslatable borrowing, including famous phrases,

historical references, company names, and slogans. German speakers recognize these

phrases as distinctly French. Here are three examples:

(1) Vive la France

There are three instances of this borrowing in the data. I have also included an instance

in which this borrowing could have occurred but did not.

(a) “...und die heute mit uns zusammen triumphieren. Vive la France!” (May 9, p. 1)

“…and today we will triumph together. Vive la France!”

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(b) “...und sein Schlusswort ‘Ah, vive la France’ hallte weithin über den Platz.” (May 9,

p. 2)

“…and his closing words ‘Ah, vive la France’ resonated throughout the Square.”12

(c) “ein beherztes ‘Vive la France’ unter Familienangehörigen oder Freunden.” (July 13,

p. 1)

“a courageous ‘Vive la France’ under family or friends.”

(d) “...Es lebe General De Gaulle! Es lebe Frankreich!” (May 9, p. 1)

“Long live General De Gaulle! Long live France!”

This was the translation of the French version: “...Vive le général de Gaulle, vive la

France.” (“Long live General De Gaulle! Vive la France”).

This famous French phrase, whose closest equivalent in English might be “long

live France”, is often borrowed untranslated into several languages, including English. In

(a), (b), and (c), it is clear that German speakers recognized this phrase as distinctly

French and prefered to keep it as such.

Example (d) proves that not all untranslatables are invincible. As I said before,

amongst untranslatables, there is a varying degree of translatability. This is largely

dependent on the motivations of the speaker. This phrase is obviously very pro-French.

The fact that it remains in the French when borrowed only adds to the pro-French

message of the utterance. A German speaker who wishes to downplay this pro-French

aspect, can at least translate the phrase into German. Again, one cannot be sure that this

was the motivation for translation in this case. It could also have been that the writer did

12 This example is also a quote, which reinforces the phrase’s untranslatabilty. However, itsuntranslatability is mostly due to the well-known phrase within the quotation marks. Therefore, given thedistinction I explained earlier between an untranslatable and a quote, this example more resembles anuntranslatable.

32

not think that his readers would be able to understand the phrase in the French.

Nevertheless, the three instances in which this phrase remained untranslated prove that

this is an untranslatable borrowing, well-known and accepted as distinctly French.

(2) 14 Juillet

“...14 Juillet...” (July 13, p. 1)

“...July 14th...”

This is the date of the national French holiday celebrating the storming of the Bastille

during the Revolution in 1789 and the birth of modern France. This phrase is technically

not difficult to translate; in German, it would be “14 Juli”. However, the implications of

this phrase are so distinctly French that translating it would betray its full meaning. Thus,

it is untranslatable and proves an awareness of French cultural influence. A similar

example in English is our use of the Spanish phrase “Cinco de Mayo” (“May 5th”). If we

translated it into English, it would just be another date and we would miss its reference to

the Mexican holiday.

(3) Banque de France

“…durch Vorschüsse der Banque de France…” (March 31, p. 1)

“…through advances from the Banque de France…”

This is the name of a French bank, which was founded in 1800 and nationalized in 1945.

I am considering company names untranslatables. A company created in France and

recognized in other countries, is distinctly French, which therefore makes its name

distinctly French. If it was translated to the German “Französische Bank”, readers, who

had come to recognize the French name, would question whether that really was the same

company. An example of the untranslatability of company names in English is our use of

33

the Hebrew name of the Israeli Airline “El Al”. If we translated this name, we would not

recognize it as referring to the company.

5.2.2 Loans

There are 5 instances of French loan borrowing, in which a French word has already

assimilated into the German lexicon.13 There are no German equivalents for these words,

which is why they were originally borrowed. Here are three examples:

(1) Ensemble

“Pierre Germain mit seinem Ensemble…” (May 9, p. 2)

“Pierre Germain with his Ensemble…”

“Ensemble” is a well-known French loan that is widely accepted in a variety of

languages. In this case it refers to a group of accompanying musicians. The sense of this

word cannot be conveyed in German as concisely, which is why it is a loan.

(2) Exposé

“Der Minister beendigt seine Rede mit einem Exposé über die zukünftigen Budgets.”

(March 31, p. 1)

“The Minister concludes his speech with an exposé on the future budgets.”

“Exposé” is another popular French loan, which has also been borrowed into English to

refer to a sort of public revelation.

(3) Chansons

“…Festspiel der Chansons und des Rythmus…” (May 9, p. 2)

“…festival of Chansons and of rhythms…”

13 I attempted unsuccessfully to pinpoint the date of entry of these loans into the borrowing language bylooking them up in dictionaries from a variety of different dates before and after WWII. However, I onlyfound one entry of “ensemble” in a dictionary from 1947. It was not listed in earlier dictionaries andneither were the other loans listed in any of the dictionaries.

34

A “chanson” is a particularly French genre of music. This borrowing could also be

considered an untranslatable since its meaning is closely tied to French culture.

However, since it is a single word, it is more easily assimilated to the borrowing lexicon.

As it assimilates, speakers might forget that it is of French origin. This differentiates it

from untranslatables, which remain obviously foreign. Therefore, I consider it a loan.

5.2.3 Quotes

There are 8 instances of French quote borrowing, including song lyrics, play titles, and

quoted speech. Quotes are distinctly tied to the language of the speaker, but are not well-

known phrases so they are usually translated. The quotes in my data remain untranslated

and therefore, their use assumes the readers’ ability to code-switch from German to

French. Here are a few examples:

(1) “Vous n’aurez pas l’Alsace et de Lorraine.”

“Die Kapelle der Légion spielte das ‘Vous n’aurez pas l’Alsace et de Lorraine’…”

(May 9, p. 2)

“The music group of the Legion played the ‘You will not have Alsace and Lorraine’…”

This is the title of a French song, composed in 1871 about resistance to Germanization in

Alsace and Lorraine (Klein 2002). The title could have been translated into German as

“Sie haben nicht Elsass und Lothringen” Because of the importance of speaker loyalty in

quotes and mostly because of the rise in bilingualism at the time, this quote remains

untranslated.

(2) V’là le printemps

“ ‘V’là le printemps’ im Union-Theater.” (May 9, p. 2)

“ ‘Spring is here’ in Union-Theater.”

35

This is the title of a French play, which could be translated in German as “Es ist der

Frühling”. Again, the quote remains untranslated to preserve the author’s authenticity,

which assumes the readers’ code-switching ability.

(3) “Au revoir, M. le Maréchal”

“Laval grüsst den Angeklagten mit einem ‘Au revoir, M. le Maréchal’ und geht.”

(August 5, p. 1)

“Laval greets the defendant with a ‘Goodbye, Mr. Marshal’ and leaves.”

Unlike the other quotes, which were written titles or song lyrics, this example is

presumably a direct quote from an unscripted spoken utterance. However, it is similarly

translatable and assumes code-switching. It could be translated in German as “Auf

Wiedersehen, Herr Marschall”.

5.2.4 Translatables

There are 25 total instances of French translatable borrowing, including governmental

and military titles, committee names, and little-known phrases. These untranslated

translatable borrowings reveal a changing lexicon and a favorable attitude towards

foreign influence. Here are some examples:

(1) Général

“Général de Lattre de Tassigny…” (August 5, p. 1)

“General de Lattre de Tassigny [name]…”

This word can be easily translated into German as “General” (without the accents).

Unlike “Führer”, the term “General” is not distinct to any one language. Therefore, we

would expect the German translation, just like in English we would expect the English

translation of “Presidente” when talking about the Spanish president. Since it is not

36

distinct and is translatable and still it is untranslated, it is clear the foreign phrase is

affecting the borrowing lexicon

Interestingly, this was the only untranslated occurrence of this word. “General”

appears several times in the data, always in German, except for this one time. Even

within this same article and referring to this same person, de Lattre de Tassigny, the

German “General” is used. The phrase is obviously translatable and usually is, indeed,

translated, however, in this one instance the speaker shows a preference for the French

version.

(2) directeur du cabinet du Commissaire de la République

“Wolf, directeur du cabinet du Commissaire de la République...” (August 5, p. 1)

“Wolf [name], director of the cabinet of the Commissioner of the Republic…”

This phrase can be translated into German as “Kabinetsdirektor vom

Republikskommissar”.14 No meaning would be lost in the translation since it is not well

known as a distinctly French phrase. Yet, the speakers choose the untranslated French

over their native equivalent. Due to the length of this phrase, it also assumes the readers’

code-switching ability.

(3) Campagne du Retour

“…zugunsten der Heimkehrer durch Schaffung einer ‘Campagne du Retour’.” (May 27,

p. 1)

“…in support of the homecoming through the creation of a ‘Repatriation Campaign’.”

This is a little-known phrase, which is not distinctly French. It could have been

translated into German as “Heimkerskampagne”.

14 Haverford French Professor Koffi Anyinefa, who is fluent in both French and German, provided most ofthese hypothetical German translations.

37

(4) Société Artistique et Littéraire

“Die Société Artistique et Littéraire ‘La Fontaine’ bringt dem Strassburger

Publikum…” (May 9, p. 2)

“The Artistic and Literary Society ‘La Fontaine’ brings the Strasbourg audience…”

This is the name of a little-known society in France. Though somewhat similar to a

company name, this phrase is translatable because a similarly-titled equivalent non-

French society could exist. Therefore, the name is not distinctly French and is easily

translatable. It could have been translated into German as “Kulturverein”.

(5) Comité des Cercle d’Escrimes

“Das provisorische Comité des Cercle d’Escrimes behandelte...” (May 9, p. 2)

“The provisional Committee of the Group of Fencers handled…”

This phrase could have been translated into German as “Komitee des Fechtverein”. This

and the following example are probably the most significant data because they show real

linguistic effect at work. Whereas earlier examples of translatables, such as example (2),

are evidence of bilingualism in Alsace, these examples show French lexical borrowings

that are actually being assimilated into German speech. Instead of keeping the full

French phrase intact, “Comité de la Cercle d’Escrimes”, the writer translates the French

“de la” (“of the”) into the German “des”. By breaking up this phrase, the French

components, “Comité” and “Cercle d’Escrimes” become more similar to loans. So,

instead of keeping the languages distinct in phrases, as one does in code-switching, the

speaker is assimilating the borrowed words into his language. Of all the data, this most

clearly shows the acceptance of foreign linguistic influence. German speakers are

allowing French translatable borrowings to fully enter their lexicon.

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(6) Centre des Repatriement

“…der Centre des Repatriement…” (May 27, p. 2)

“…the Center of Repatriation [Repatriation Center]…”

As in the previous example, parts of this phrase are translated, which better assimilates

the untranslated parts into the borrowing language. The full French phrase would be

“Centre de Repatriement”, but the “de” is Germanized into “des”. Again, this shows

German speakers’ willingness to incorporate French borrowings into their lexicon,

despite the prior existence of German equivalents.

5.3 Results and Statistical Comparisons

I have organized my results in the following table, which enables us to make comparisons

between German and French acceptance of foreign influence:

40

French untranslatable borrowings are slightly more common than German

untranslatables. The p-value15 for this comparison is much greater than 0.05, the

significance cutoff point, so this data is not significant in showing a preference among

Alsatians for French untranslatable borrowings.

While there are more French loans than German loans, the p-value of this

comparison is also very high. The data is not significant evidence of any preference for

French loan borrowings.

There are a lot more French quotes than German ones; in fact, there are no

German quotes. The p-value of this comparison is 0.065, so, by a slight margin, this data

is not significant. Since there are absolutely no German quotes, it is possible that, with a

greater sampling, this could be a significant comparison.

The borrowing of French translatables is nearly 15 times as common as that of

German translatables. The p-value of 0.0002 proves that there is a very significant

preference for French translatables.

In general, Alsatians are about five times more likely to borrow from French into

German than from German into French. The p-value of 0.02 proves that there is a

significant overall preference for French borrowings. German is more accepting of

French borrowings than French is of German borrowings. Despite three of its categories

being insignificant, the strength of the data of the fourth category, translatables, makes

the total borrowings comparison also significant.

English borrowings are also more common in German. However, the p-value of

this comparison is 0.137, which shows that there is not a significantly greater acceptance

of English borrowings in German than of English borrowings in French. This acts as a

15 See Appendix B for full T-test charts of each category.

41

sort of control for the study. It proves that it is not the case that German is always more

accepting of borrowed phrases than French is. Therefore, the fact that German is more

accepting in this case makes it unique and implies that there is a more complicated

explanation.

6.0 Conclusion

The results of my study confirm my hypothesis: Alsatians in 1945 were more accepting

of French than of German linguistic influence.

The growing preference for French in Alsace after the war was motivated both

from the top down and the bottom up. This study acknowledges that the top-down

influence of official language policy at the time was already biasing the Alsatians

towards French. Of course the French government planned on Frenchifying Alsace. The

use of French quotes in the German articles and the absence of German quotes in the

French articles shows that only the German readers were being pressured to become

bilingual. In situations of language contact, bilingualism is the first step of a gradual

linguistic takeover. Since bilingualism was only being encouraged in the German paper,

it is clear that it was to be a French linguistic takeover. Indeed, this is what happened.

French authorities required German papers to become bilingual. Yet, even in the sections

of the paper that were allowed to be fully German, French crept in, which was evidence

of further French influence, but motivated from the bottom up, by the people.

In addition to the well-accepted point that language policy was biasing Alsatians

towards French, I am arguing that the pro-French attitude of the people sped along this

process of Frenchification, making it even faster than the policy-makers were hoping for.

42

Alsatians were even more accepting of French influence than they were required to be.

They borrowed more French phrases than was expected. Unlike during World War II,

when the authorities were enforcing a linguistic change and the people were resisting,

after the Liberation, the people were very much on the French authorities’ bandwagon.

Perhaps they were even in the driver’s seat. They allowed more and more French

borrowings. They even accepted these borrowings in place of German equivalents,

which shows linguistic effect through lexical change, a sure sign of acceptance of foreign

influence.

During the war the Nazis had gone to great lengths not to allow any hint of French

into the people’s speech. They would never have allowed a phrase such as “Gouverneur

militaire de Strasbourg” to remain untranslated. Once liberated, the people attempted to

dissociate themselves from their harsh former-occupiers by beginning to embrace the

French language. They borrowed untranslatable French phrases, which is quite normal in

situations of linguistic and cultural contact. However, the Alsatians, because of their

intensely anti-German attitude, took it the extra step by borrowing translatable French

phrases, which modified their own lexicon by replacing German equivalents.

In the process, the Alsatians compromised their own pre-war identity. The

German-reading community began to disappear with the passage of generations. In

spoken language, they used less and less of the dialect. While certainly not the only

factor, the post-war, anti-Germanic sentiment was one of the major causes of the steady

decline of the dialect throughout the second half of the 20th century. Before the war, the

dialect was the primary spoken language of the majority of Alsatians and therefore,

fundamental to their identity. Today, most of the younger generation cannot speak the

43

dialect at all. This unique, pre-World War II Alsatian culture has largely disappeared

because of the Alsatians desire to Frenchify themselves after five awful years of German

domination.

Alsace as a case study of language contact is interesting because of its

complicated history of influences, which force Alsatians to constantly reroute its quest

towards self-discovery. World War II has been the most recent turning point on this

quest. The events of World War II, specifically the harsh Nazi rule, provoked a radical

shift in Alsatian identity and have largely made that identity what it is today. The anti-

German sentiment after the Liberation led Alsatians to prefer to be associated with

France. They became more accepting of French cultural influence than they were of

German cultural influence. This celebration of French cultural influences led to the rising

dominance of the French language in Alsace. German-reading Alsatians became

increasingly receptive of French linguistic influence. Not only did they become

bilingual, but they also incorporated French phrases into their own lexicon, by replacing

German equivalents. My data proves this point: the number of translatable French

phrases was significantly greater than the number of German translatables and the total

number of French borrowings was significantly greater than the total number of German

borrowings. The Nazi plan of a German takeover had backfired due to its inconsistencies

with popular sentiment and its harsh methods for carrying out its policies. Quite the

opposite effect resulted: French took over.

44

Appendix A: Alsace Map

http://www.afg-2000.org/images/manuel_genealogiste/cartes/alsace.gif

http://www.ifrance.com/hconline/alsace/alsace.htm

45

Appendix B: T-tests (1-tail, equal variance)

Untranslatables

German Untranslatables

in French WritingFrench Untranslatables

in German WritingMean 0.08936 0.09938Variance 0.008204593 0.011008297Observations 5 5Pooled Variance 0.009606445 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 8 t Stat -0.161642804 P(T<=t) one-tail 0.437797471 t Critical one-tail 1.85954832 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.875594942

t Critical two-tail 2.306005626

Loans

German Loans

in French WritingFrench Loans



Quotes

German Quotesin French Writing

French Quotesin German Writing

Mean 0 0.0906Variance 0 0.014398685Observations 5 5Pooled Variance 0.007199343 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 8 t Stat -1.688308412 P(T<=t) one-tail 0.064914306 t Critical one-tail 1.85954832 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.129828613


46

Translatables

German Translatables

in French WritingFrench Translatables



Total Borrowings

Total German

in French WritingTotal French



English Total Borrowings

English Borrowingsin French Writing

English Borrowingsin German Writing

Mean 0.01588 0.06094Variance 0.000216972 0.007144608Observations 5 5Pooled Variance 0.00368079 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 8 t Stat -1.174331395 P(T<=t) one-tail 0.137016183 t Critical one-tail 1.85954832 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.274032365


47

Appendix C: Complete List of Classified Data in Contexts

A. German Borrowings in French Writing

Amongst the five editions of the French newspapers, I analyzed approximately 14,020 words. Of these, I

found 11 German borrowings. I have divided them into three categories: untranslatables, loans, and

translatables

1. Untranslatables

There are 8 total instances of German untranslatable borrowing, including famous phrases, company

names, and government and military titles. These phrases remain untranslated because they are well-

known, distinctly German phrases, and some of their meaning would be lost in a French translation. Here

are three examples:

(1) Sieg-Heil

“L’Allemagne est occupée dans sa totalité...on n’entend plus le chant de ‘Horst Wessel’, et les ‘Sieg-

Heil’...” (27 mai, p. 1)

“Germany is occupied in its totality…we no longer hear the Horst Wessel song and the Sieg-Heil’s…”

Literally meaning “Hail Victory”, this is a Nazi slogan and salute, similar to “Heil Hitler” (Michael and

Doerr 2002). The closest French equivalent might be “la victoire est à nous” (“Victory is ours”).

However, when translated, the phrase lacks the powerful connotations of Nazi language

(2) Führer “…parler au Führer.” (31 mars, p. 1)

“…to speak to the Führer.”

Literally meaning “leader”, this became Hitler’s official title during the Nazi reign. As a result of Hitler’s

infamy, the word “führer” has never been able to rid itself of this association with Hitler. This German

word was accepted into several languages and was often used interchangeably with the name, Hitler. The

closest translation into French might be “conducteur”, but “Conducteur Hitler” does not invoke nearly the

same emotion.

(3) Wehrmacht

“La Ruhr…a pratiquement cessé d’exister comme centre d’approvisionnement en matériel de guerre de la

Wehrmacht.” (31 mars, p. 1)

“The Ruhr…practically ceased to exist as the supply center of war material for the Wehrmacht.”

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Literally meaning “defense power”, this refers to the Third Reich’s armed forces (Michael and Doerr

2002). The closest possible equivalent in French is “armée Nazi” (“Nazi army”). This German term was

well known by the French and conveyed a special sense of German-ness when untranslated.

(4) Kaiser

“…des générations entières de patriotes strasbourgeois...se moquaient du Kaiser et de ses valets...” (13

juillet, p. 1)

“…entire generations of Strasbourg patriots…made fun of the Kaiser and some of his henchmen…”

This could be translated into the French “empereur”, but like “Führer”, the German word invokes German

nationalism and military history. Therefore, it remains untranslated.

(5) Volkssturm

“…la 3e armée américaine a capturé une brigade du Volkssturm.” (31 mars, p. 1)

“…the 3rd American army captured a brigade of the Volkssturm.”

Literally meaning “people storm”, this is the name of the German people’s militia instituted at very end of

war (Michael and Doerr 2002). It is not quite as well-recognized as the “Wehrmacht”, but is still distinctly

German and difficult to translate.

(6) Völkischer Beobachter

“… écrit le ‘Völkischer Beobachter’…” (31 mars, p. 1)

“…writes the ‘Völkischer Beobachter’…”

Literally meaning the “People Observer”, this was the Nazi Party newspaper. It is like a company name,

therefore distinct to German and untranslatable.

(7) Nazi (5 août, p. 1)

This is the well known abbreviation for Hitler’s Party, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei

(National-Socialist German Workers’ Party). It could be translated into French as the “parti National

Socialiste”, but this phrase is so distinctly German, you cannot translate it.

(8) Werwolf

“…oeuvre de l’organisation du ‘Werwolf’...” (5 août, p. 1)

“…work of the Werwolf organization…”

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This defense formation and unit of the Hitler Youth could be translated into French as “l’armée des loups”

(“wolf army”), but loses its implied references to the Nazi organization.

2. Loans

There is only one instance of German loan borrowing, in which a German word has already assimilated

into the French lexicon:

(1) leitmotiv

“Ces phrases, avec la régularité et même l’obsession d’un leitmotiv...” (13 juillet, p. 1)

“These sentences, with the regularity and even the obsession of a leitmotiv…”

This loan, which might be translated into English as “theme” and into French as “fil conducteur”, had

already entered the French language prior to World War II. It apparently filled some gap in the French

lexicon or it was used to convey a certain tone. It is unclear whether speakers in 1945 were conscious of its

German origin.

3. Translatables

There are two instances of German translatable borrowing. By replacing native equivalents, these phrases,

which are not well known as distinctly German and therefore could have been translated, are changing the

French lexicon.

(1) Strassenbahn

“Les ‘Strassenbahndiplomingenieure’ venus de Karlsruhe…” (31 mars, p. 1)

“The ‘certified Tram engineers’ from Karlsruhe…”

“Strassenbahn” could have been translated into French as “tramway”, which, coincidentally, is an

American loan word, but has been assimilated into the French lexicon. The fact that it was used in a

compound word whose other half was French shows a conscious effort to borrow instead of use a native

equivalent. One can only hypothesize about why this was borrowed untranslated. It could be that German

is used to invoke a sense of respect for these engineers who have been certified in Germany, particulary in

Karlsruhe, which is well known for its metal industry. Or, it could be that German is used in an ironic or

mocking manner. The writer could be poking fun at the specificity of these Germans’ jobs. It is impossible

50

to know what sense of the borrowing the writer intended. Regardless, what is important is that the

borrowing occurred and that it is having a linguistic effect on French.

(2) Wiese

“À son arrivée à la ‘Kinziger Wiese’ le général...” (5 août, p. 1)

“Upon his arrival at ‘Kinziger Meadow’ the general…”

“Wiese” could have been translated into the French “prairie”. The German word is replacing the French

equivalent in the lexicon. One could argue that “Wiese” wasn’t translated because it was part of the place

name “Kinziger Wiese”. By this logic, for example, when translating “Delaware Valley”, “valley” would

remain in its original English since it is part of a place name. I could interpret it either way, but in order to

be consistent throughout my analysis, I decided to consider descriptive words of an adjacent proper name

or place name as separate from the name and therefore translatable. So, words like “Wiese” in “Kinziger

Wiese”, “Valley” in “Delaware Valley”, and, as we will see later, “Général” in “Général de Gaulle” are all

translatable.

B. French Words in German Articles

Amongst the German sections of the five bilingual papers, I analyzed approximately 11,820 words. Of

these, I found 46 total French borrowings. I have divided them into four categories: untranslatables, loans,

quotes, and translatables.

1. Untranslatables

There are 8 total instances of French untranslatable borrowing, including famous phrases, historical

references, company names, and slogans. German speakers recognize these phrases as distinctly French.

Here are three examples:

(3) Vive la France

There are three instances of this borrowing in the data. I’ve also included an instance in which this

borrowing could have occurred but didn’t.

(a) “...und die heute mit uns zusammen triumphieren. Vive la France!” (9 mai, p. 1)

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“…and today we will triumph together. Vive la France!”

(b) “...und sein Schlusswort ‘Ah, vive la France’ hallte weithin über den Platz.” (9 mai, p. 2)

“…and his closing words ‘Ah, vive la France’ resonated throughout the Square.”16

(c) “ein beherztes ‘Vive la France’ unter Familienangehörigen oder Freunden.” (13 juillet, p. 1)

“a courageous ‘Vive la France’ under family or friends.”

(d) “...Es lebe General De Gaulle! Es lebe Frankreich!” (9 mai, p. 1)

“Long live General De Gaulle! Long live France!”

This was the translation of: “...Vive le général de Gaulle, vive la France.” (“Long live General De Gaulle!

Vive la France”).

This famous French phrase, whose closest equivalent in English might be “long live France”, is

often borrowed untranslated into several languages, including English. In (a), (b), and (c), it is clear that

German speakers recognized this phrase as distinctly French and prefer to keep it as such.

Example (d) proves that not all untranslatables are invincible. As I said before, amongst

untranslatables, there is a varying degree of translatability. This is largely dependent on the motivations of

the speaker. This phrase is obviously very pro-French. The fact that it remains in the French when

borrowed only adds to the pro-French message of the utterance. A German speaker who wishes to

downplay this pro-French aspect, can at least translate the phrase into German. Again, one cannot be sure

that this was the motivation for translation in this case. It could also have been that the writer did not think

that his readers would be able to understand the phrase in the French. Nevertheless, the three instances in

which this phrase remained untranslated prove that this is an untranslatable borrowing, well-known and

accepted as distinctly French.

(4) 14 Juillet

“...14 Juillet...” (13 juillet, p. 1)

“...July 14th...”

This is the date of the national French holiday celebrating the storming of the Bastille during the

Revolution in 1789 and the birth of modern France. This phrase is technically not difficult to translate; in

16 This example is also a quote, which reinforces the phrase’s untranslatabilty. However, itsuntranslatability is mostly due to the well-known phrase within the quotation marks. Therefore, given the

52

German, it would be “14 Juli”. However, the implications of this phrase are so distinctly French that

translating it would betray its full meaning. Thus, it is untranslatable and proves an awareness of French

cultural influence. A similar example in English is our use of the Spanish phrase “cinco de mayo” (“May

5th”). If we translated it into English, it would just be another date and we would miss its reference to the

Mexican holiday.

(3) Banque de France

“…durch Vorschüsse der Banque de France…” (31 mars, p. 1)

“…through advances from the Banque de France…”

This is the name of a French bank, which was founded in 1800 and nationalized in 1945. I am considering

company names untranslatables. A company created in France and recognized in other countries, is

distinctly French, which therefore makes its name distinctly French. If it was translated to the German

“Französische Bank”, readers, who had come to recognize the French name, would question whether that

really was the same company. An example of the untranslatability of company names in English is our use

of the Hebrew name of the Israeli Airline “El Al”. If we translated this name, we would not recognize it as

referring to the company.

(4) Gnome et Rhône

“…beschloss die Regierung die Verstaatlichung der ‘Gnome et Rhône’-Werke.” (9 mai, p. 1)

“…the government decided on the nationalization of the ‘Gnome et Rhône’ factory.”

Presumably the name of a factory by these two rivers, as a company name, it is untranslatable.

(5) Dieu et Patrie

“Lob unserer Scouts-‘Dieu et Patrie’” (27 mai, p. 2)

“…praise of our scouts-‘Dieu et Patrie’”

“Getreu ihrem Wahlspruch ‘Dieu et Patrie’…” (27 mai, p. 2)

“their loyal campaign slogan ‘Dieu et Patrie’”

This French slogan, meaning “God and Countryland”, invokes a sense of pride in France, which could not

easily be invoked if the phrase was tranlsated into German.

distinction I explained earlier between an untranslatable and a quote, this example more resembles an

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2. Loans

There are 5 instances of French loan borrowing, in which a French word has already assimilated into the

German lexicon. There are no German equivalents for these words, which is why they were originally

borrowed. Here are three examples:

(1) Ensemble

“Pierre Germain mit seinem Ensemble…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“Pierre Germain with his Ensemble…”

“Ensemble” is a well-known French loan that is widely accepted in a variety of languages. In this case it

refers to a group of accompanying musicians. The sense of this word cannot be conveyed in German as

concisely, which is why it is a loan.

(2) Exposé

“Der Minister beendigt seine Rede mit einem Exposé über die zukünftigen Budgets.” (31 mars, p. 1)

“The Minister concludes his speech with an exposé on the future budgets.”

“Exposé” is another popular French loan, which has also been borrowed into English to refer to a sort of

public revelation.

(3) Chansons

“…Festspiel der Chansons und des Rythmus…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“…festival of Chansons and of rhythms…”

A “chanson” is a particularly French genre of music. This borrowing could also be considered an

untranslatable since its meaning is closely tied to French culture. However, since it is a single word, it is

more easily assimilated to the borrowing lexicon. As it assimilates, speakers might forget that it is of

French origin. This differentiates it from untranslatables, which remain obviously foreign. Therefore, I

consider it a loan.

(4) Patisserie

“Verteilung von 100 Gramm Patisserie…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“Allocation of 100 grams Patisserie…”

In this case, “patisserie” refers to pastries, for which an equivalent does not exist in German.

untranslatable.

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(5) Coiffeur (9 mai, p. 2)

A “Coiffeur” is simply a hairdresser, but conveys a sense of “chic-ness” in French.

3. Quotes

There are 8 instances of French quote borrowing, including song lyrics, play titles, and quoted speech.

Quotes are distinctly tied to the language of the speaker, but are not well-known phrases so they are usually

translated. The quotes in my data remain untranslated and therefore, their use assumes the readers’ ability

to code-switch from German to French. Here are a few examples:

(1) “Vous n’aurez pas l’Alsace et de Lorraine.”

“Die Kapelle der Légion spielte das ‘Vous n’aurez pas l’Alsace et de Lorraine’…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“The music group of the Legion played the ‘You will not have Alsace and Lorraine’…”

This is the title of a French song, composed in 1871 about resistance to Germanization in Alsace and

Lorraine, which was presumably well-known in the region (Klein 2002). The title could have been

translated into German as “Sie haben nicht Elsass und Lothringen” Because of the importance of speaker

loyalty in quotes and mostly because of the rise in bilingualism at the time, this quote remains untranslated.

(2) V’là le printemps

“ ‘V’là le printemps’ im Union-Theater.” (9 mai, p. 2)

“ ‘Spring is here’ in Union-Theater.”

This is the title of a French play, which could be translated in German as “Es ist der Frühling”. Again, the

quote remains untranslated to preserve the author’s authenticity, which assumes the readers’ code-

switching ability.

(3) “Au revoir, M. le Maréchal”

“Laval grüsst den Angeklagten mit einem ‘Au revoir, M. le Maréchal’ und geht.” (5 août, p. 1)

“Laval greets the defendant with a ‘Goodbye, Mr. Marshal’ and leaves.”

Unlike the other quotes, which were written titles or song lyrics, this example is presumably a direct quote

from an unscripted spoken utterance. However, it is similarly translatable and assumes code-switching. It

could be translated in German as “Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Marschall”.

(4) “Liberté, liberté chérie”

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(5) “de la tyrannie l’étendard sanglant”

“Seine Gegenüberstellung ‘de la tyrannie l’étendard sanglant’ der ersten Strophe mit dem Beginn der

anderen Strophe ‘Liberté, liberté chérie’…” (13 juillet, p. 1)

“His opposition ‘from the tyranny the bloody flag’ of the first verse with the beginning of the other verse

‘liberty, dear liberty’…”

These are lyrics from the French national anthem, untranslated to preserve speaker authenticity.

(6) (3 French film titles whose names I didn’t write down) (9 mai, p. 2).

Untranslated for the same reason as the play title.

4. Translatables

There are 25 total instances of French translatable borrowing, including governmental and military titles,

committee names, and little-known phrases. These untranslated translatable borrowings reveal a changing

lexicon and a favorable attitude towards foreign influence. Here are some examples:

(1) Général

“Général de Lattre de Tassigny…” (5 août, p. 1)

“General de Lattre de Tassigny [name]…”

This word can be easily translated into German as “General” (without the accents). Unlike “Führer”, the

term “General” is not distinct to any one language. Therefore, we would expect the German translation,

just like in English we would expect the English translation of “Presidente” when talking about the Spanish

president. Since it is not distinct and is translatable and still it is untranslated, it is clear the foreign phrase

is affecting the borrowing lexicon

Interestingly, this was the only untranslated occurrence of this word. “General” appears several

times in the data, always in German, except for this one time. Even within this same article and referring to

this same person, de Lattre de Tassigny, the German “General” is used. The phrase is obviously

translatable and usually is, indeed, translated, however, in this one instance the speaker shows a preference

for the French version.

(2) directeur du cabinet du Commissaire de la République

“Wolf, directeur du cabinet du Commissaire de la République...” (5 août, p. 1)

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“Wolf [name], director of the cabinet of the Commissioner of the Republic…”

This phrase can be translated into German as “Kabinetsdirektor vom Republikskommissar”.17 No meaning

would be lost in the translation since it is not well known as a distinctly French phrase. Yet, the speakers

choose the untranslated French over their native equivalent. Due to the length of this phrase, it also

assumes the readers’ code-switching ability.

(3) Gouverneur militaire de Strasbourg

“…General du Vigier, Gouverneur militaire de Strasbourg, begrüsste.” (5 août, p. 1)

“…General du Vigier [name], Military governor of Strasbourg, (was) welcomed.”

German translation would be “Strazburgs Militärgouverneur”.

(4) Légion

“Die Kapelle der Légion…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“The music group of the Legion…”

“…vor dem Musikkorps der Légion.” (9 mai, p. 1)

“…in front of the music group of the Legion.”

German translation would be “Legion”.

(5) Commissaire regional

“…mit Commissaire regional Blondel…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“…with Regional commissioner Blondel [name]…”

German translation would be “Regional Kommissar”.

(6) Capitaine

“…sprache Capitaine Jacques d’Alsace…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“…Captain Jacques d’Alsace [name] spoke…”

German translation would be “Kapitän”.

(7) Maire

“…der Strassburger Maire…” (13 juillet, p. 1)

“…the Strasbourg mayor…”

German translation would be “Bürgermeister”.

57

(8) Inspecteur Général de l’Armée

“…General Inspector of the Army…” (5 août, p. 1)

German translation would be “Armee Generalinspektor”.

(9) Prefet du Bas-Rhin

“…Prefecture of the Bas-Rhin…” (5 août, p. 1)

German translation would be “Prefekt der Bas-Rhin”.

(10) Campagne du Retour

“…zugunsten der Heimkehrer durch Schaffung einer ‘Campagne du Retour’.” (27 mai, p. 1)

“…in support of the homecoming through the creation of a ‘Repatriation Campaign’.”

This is a little-known phrase, which is not distinctly French. It could have been translated into German as

“Heimkerskampagne”.

(11) Société Artistique et Littéraire

“Die Société Artistique et Littéraire ‘La Fontaine’ bringt dem Strassburger Publikum…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“The Artistic and Literary Society ‘La Fontaine’ brings the Strasbourg audience…”

This is the name of a little-known society in France. Though somewhat similar to a company name, this

phrase is translatable because a similarly-titled equivalent non-French society could exist. Therefore, the

name is not distinctly French and is easily translatable. It could have been translated into German as

“Kulturverein”.

(12) Comité des Cercle d’Escrimes

“Das provisorische Comité des Cercle d’Escrimes behandelte...” (9 mai, p. 2)

“The provisional Committee of the Group of Fencers handled…”

This phrase could have been translated into German as “Komitee des Fechtverein”. This and the following

example are probably the most significant data because they show real linguistic effect at work. Whereas

earlier examples of translatables, such as example (2), are evidence of bilingualism in Alsace, these

examples show French lexical borrowings that are actually being assimilated into German speech. Instead

of keeping the full French phrase intact, “Comité de la Cercle d’Escrimes”, the writer translates the French

“de la” (“of the”) into the German “des”. By breaking up this phrase, the French components, “Comité”

17 French Professor Koffi Anyinefa, who is fluent in both French and German, provided most of these

58

and “Cercle d’Escrimes” become more similar to loans. So, instead of keeping the languages distinct in

phrases, as one does in code-switching, the speaker is assimilating the borrowed words into his language.

Of all the data, this most clearly shows the acceptance of foreign linguistic influence. German speakers are

allowing French translatable borrowings to fully enter their lexicon.

(13) Equipe de France

“Grosser Fussballerfolg der ‘Equipe de France’” (27 mai, p. 1)

“Big soccer following of the ‘French team’”

German translation would be “Französische Mannschaft”.

(14) Entr’Aide Française

“…der Entr’Aide Française an die Landbevölkerung.” (27 mai, p. 2)

“…the French aid to the countrypeople.”

German translation would be “Französische Hilfe”.

(15) Comité de Confiscation

“… ‘Comité de Confiscation’ üben jetzt auf dem…” (31 mars, p. 1)

“… ‘Confiscation Committee’ to practice now on the…”

German translation would be “Komitee Konfiskation”.

(16) 1ère Armée Française

“…defilierte die 1ère Armée Française zum letzten Male…” (5 août, p. 1)

“…the French First Army marched past for the last time…”

Not as well-known as German military references, so still translatable. German translation would be “Erste

Französische Armee”.

(17) Délégation du Ministère de la Reconstruction et de l’Urbanisme

“...Freigabe von Materialien die Délégation du Ministère de la Reconstruction et de l’Urbanisme.” (5

août, p. 2)

“…release of material from the Delegation of the Minister of Urban Reconstruction.”

German translation would be “Delegation vom Rekonstruktion und Urbanismus Ministerium”.

(18) Centre des Repatriement

hypothetical German translations.

59

“…der Centre des Repatriement…” (27 mai, p. 2)

“…the Center of Repatriation [Repatriation Center]…”

As in the previous example, parts of this phrase are translated, which better assimilates the untranslated

parts into the borrowing language. The full French phrase would be “Centre de Repatriement”, but the

“de” is Germanized into “des”. Again, this shows German speakers’ willingness to incorporate French

borrowings into their lexicon, despite the prior existence of German equivalents.

(19) Prix de la Libération

“Der Leiter der Sektion, R. Hausknecht, bereitet ein grosses Rennen, gennant Prix de la Libération, vor.”

(9 mai, p. 2)

“The leader of the section, R. Hausknecht, is preparing a big race, named Prize of the Liberation.”

German translation would be “Preis der Befreiung”.

(20) Feuille Semestrielle de Coupons

“…der Feuille Semestrielle de Coupons…” (5 août, p. 2)

“…der quarterly handout of coupons…”

German translation would be “halbjährliches Couponblatt”.

(21) Campagne Nationale du Retour

“Anlässlich der ‘Campagne Nationale du Retour’ hielt H. Frenay eine Radio-ansprache.” (27 mai, p. 1)

“On the occasion of the ‘National Repatriation Campaign’ H. Frenay held a radio address.”

German translation would be “Heimkerskampagne Nazionale”.

(22) Premier Pas Dunlop

“…vertritt das Elsass beim ‘Premier Pas Dunlop’…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“…represent the Alsatians by ‘First Step Dunlop’…”

German translation would be “Erster Dunlop-Schritt”.

(23) Bons de la Libération

“… ‘Bons de la Libération…jederzeit einlösbar.” (31 mars, p. 1)

“… ‘Liberation vouchers’…redeemable anytime.”

German translation would be “Bons des Befreiung”.

(24) Cinémas

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“Strassburger Cinémas…” (9 mai, p. 2)

“Strasbourg Cinémas…”

German translation would be “Kinos”.

C. English in French articles

(1) War Room

“…le général Eisenhower a prononcé dans le War Room…” (9 mai, p. 1)

“…General Eisenhower spoke in the War Room…”

(2) music-hall

“…ce spectacle de music-hall…” (27 mai, p. 2)

“…this music-hall show…”

(3) trusts

“…défendre les droits du peuple contre les puissants, contre les ‘trusts’, comme l’on dit aujourd’hui.” (5

août, p. 1)

“…defend the people’s rights against the powers, against the ‘trusts’, as they are called these days.”

D. English in German articles

(1) God save the King

“ ‘Vorwärts, Engländer, es lebe die Sache der Freiheit, God save the King.’” (9 mai, p. 1)

“ ‘Forwards, Englishmen, freedom lives, God save the King.’”

“…von den Musikkapellen gespielt, die Nationalhymnen der Alliierten, das God save the King, die

amerikanische und die russische Hymne.” (9 mai, p. 2)

“…from the music chapel played the national anthems of the Allies, the God save the King, the American

and the Russian anthem.”

English national anthem.

(2) War Room

“…General Eisenhower im War Room des alliierten…” (9 mai, p. 1)

“…General Eisenhower in the War Room of the Allies…”

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(3) Tag ‘V’

“Strassburg feiert den tag ‘V’.” (9 mai, p. 1)

“Strasbourg celebrates ‘V’ day.”

“…ein ewig denkwürdiger Tag, der Tag V…” (9 mai, p. 1)

“…an eternal thoughtworthy day, the V day…”

The ‘V’ refers to the English “victory”. This is a reference to May 8, 1945, what is called V.E. Day in

English and stands for “victory in Europe”. The Germans borrowed the ‘V’ to also stand for the English

word “victory”. The German word for “victory” is “Sieg”, so this is clearly a borrowing.

(4) Labour-Party

“Wichtiger Kongress der Labour-Party” (27 mai, p. 1)

“Important Congress of the Labour-Party”

(5) Labour

“…die Labour Partei…” (27 mai, p. 1)

“…the Labour Party…”

British political party.

(6) Premier

(7) Lord

“…Churchill, der ‘Premier’ bleibt, ist auch weiterhin Erster Lord des...” (27 mai, p. 1)

“…Churchill, remains the Premier, and furthermore is the first Lord of the…”

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Cited References

Primary Sources:

Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace. Strasbourg.-Samedi, 31 mars 1945. French edition and bilingual edition.-Mercredi, 9 mai 1945. French edition and bilingual edition.-Dimanche, 27 mai 1945. French edition and bilingual edition.-Vendredi, 13 juillet 1945. French edition and bilingual edition.-Dimanche, 5 août 1945. French edition and bilingual edition.

Secondary Sources:

Bloch, Oscar and Wartburg, W. 1960. Dictionnaire étymologique de la langueFrançaise. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Burrin, Philippe. 1996. Living with defeat: France under the German occupation, 1940-1944. London: Hartnolls, Ltd.

Gardner-Chloros, Penelope. 1991. Language selection and switching in Strasbourg.Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Hoffet, Frédéric. 1951. Psychanalyse de l’Alsace. Colmar: Alsatia.

Jackson, Julian. 2001. France: the dark years, 1940-1944. Oxford, Great Britain:Oxford University Press.

Lorentz, Claude. 1997. La presse Alsacienne du XXe siècle: répertoire des journauxparus depuis 1918. Strasbourg: Gyss Imprimeur Obernai.

Michael, Robert and Doerr, Karin. 2002. Nazi-Deutsch/Nazi German: an Englishlexicon of the language of the Third Reich. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Philipps, Eugène. 1975. Les luttes linguistiques en Alsace jusqu’en 1945. Strasbourg:La Société d’Édition de la Basse-Alsace.

Rigoulot, Pierre. 1997. L’Alsace-Lorraine pendant la guerre, 1939-1945. Paris: PressesUniversitaires de France.

Salmon, G.L. 1985. Le Francais en Alsace. Paris: Slatkine.

Schaeffer, Patrick. 1976. L’Alsace et l’Allemagne de 1945 à 1949. Luneville: S.A.Imprimerie Paradis.

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Schmitt, Louis. 1977. L’Alsace sous l’oppression nazie, 1940-1944. Strasbourg: CentreNational de Documentation Pédagogique.

Wardhaugh, Ronald. 1987. Languages in competition: Dominance, Diversity, andDecline. Oxford: Billing & Sons, Ltd.

Wirtz-Habermeyer, Dominique. 1987. Histoire des Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace.Molsheim: Est-Offset.

Websites:

Klein, Thierry. 2002.http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Thierry_Klein/vousnaur.htm

http://www.afg-2000.org/images/manuel_genealogiste/cartes/alsace.gif

http://www.ifrance.com/hconline/alsace/alsace.htm